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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE. j l

WALTER HARRIS, OF RICHMOND COUNTY, GEORGIA. f

FINDING THE DIRECTION E STREAMS` EOE DEEPENING cHANNELs. i

Specification of LettersPatent No. 5,043, dated March 27,1847;

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, WALTER HARRIS, of the county of Richmond and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful- Improvement in the Mode of Raising Wateron Bars, Shoals, or Shallows in Rivers, Creeks, and Watercourses Generally for Rendering Them Navigable; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact deconstruction and operation (referring to the.

annexed drawing when necessary).

I ascertain the beginning and termination of the bar-then an indication of the I channel, and fix a machine (constructed for ascertaining the'direction of the current in the channel) and marked in the drawing A, Fig. l, opposite the center of the deepest -water that makes up nearest to the bar, and

from 5 to 20 yards below according to the depth of water that is required to be raised.

The machine above mentioned for ascertaining the direction of the current resembles a rake turned upside down, with all the teeth removed except the two at the extremes which are lengthened for the purpose hereafter described, having a loop at the end of the handle slipped loosely over a pin inserted into the top of a post driven into the bottom of the stream the l top being low enough to allow the machine to float on the surface of the water.

F, represents the post driven into the bottom ofthe stream, a center bar or handle floating on the surface of the stream, and K the link by which it is attached loosely to a pin injected into the top of the post, allowing it to swing freely. H, the horizontal crosshead, also fioating on the surface of the' water at right angles to the handle, I, I, braces, and E, vertical staffs or sights inserted at right angles to the handle into the crosshead H, for ascertaining a straightline at right angles to the axis ofthe currentfor the lines of piling for the fixtures. The operation of vthis machine is as follows-the post being erected, the loop at the end of the handle is put over the pin, the'current carries the handle down stream parallelwith the axis of the current, inthe same manner a vane is ydirected by the wind-of `course the staffs or bights at the ends ofthe cro'ss- Y head will be in a line at right angles with the handle, and will indicate a line accordingly on which the fixtures must be constructed. l

The line for the fixture being-ascertained,

astakeis to be driven in aV line with the, sights E, on the edges of both sides ofthechannel D, and the machine removed to the structing the fixtures are staked that are nec-V essary, which must be regulated by the length of the bar or shallow and the depth of the next point at which -it may be necessaryto construct another range of fixtures-having established the machine and ascertained the.v direction of the current, Vand staked it off water to be raised. The water then straggling between the stakes and the shore on both sides of the channel ymust be measured.

This is done by taking the depth at Aevery .i

ten feet between each stake and the shore, when the bottom is even, but when uneveny at every five feet. This done, a calculation may be made so as to throw a proportional l.

quantity of water on the channel from both sides.,r i

When much depth of water is wanted the fixtures should be placed nearery together,

wh en less farther apart; but in allcases sufficiently near to keep .the current in 'an onward unbroken volume else the effect will be lost. The fixtures B, are to be constructed on a level as high asy the water is required to be raised from both sides of the stream 0, Fig. 3, at the same time if convenient if not alternately extending them in proportion to the quantity of water, and the distance the channel D, is from either shoresay theV channel is 200 yards from the right, and only 100 yards from the left edge of the stream, and there is` 200 square feet of water straggling on the right-and only 100 on the left side of the channel-extend the fixtures from the right twice the distance of the one from` the left shore, .and so on in due proportion, so as to throw double the quantity of water on the channel from the right-that is from.

the left side, ranging the fixtures yfrom both shores 'ina direct line with the staffs or sights E, in machine A, or the stakes driven on each edge of the channel D, as before stated,-thus continuing till the water rises to a level with the fixtures, when the depth required is obtained-the work is nished and navigation goes on. But `should the Water continue to decline, so as to lose the depth required, the fixtures must be con# tinued in the same proportion till its regained.

In constructing the fixtures, two stobsL, Fig. 2, must be driven in a line with the staffs or sights'E, in machine A, or the stakes in their line, not exceeding ten feet apart- `say two poles from 5 to 7 inches diameter firmly in the ground with a piling machine if the water is deep and strong, on the top of which fasten a sill M, 5 by 7 or 6 by 8 inches square according to the force of water to be resisted, by iron bolts or wooden pins driven through the sill into the top of the stob L. Then commence driving piling P water tight. In the beginning and particularly where the water is shallow l inch plank will answer, but in conclusion and where the water is deep and strong 1%; inch plank should be used, all spiked or strongly nailed to the sill, with occasionally one on the opposite or lower side to brace and strengthen the sill, which must not only be made strong enough to resist the force of the current, but tc sustain the logs and craft that may lodge upon it in a falling river.

As an example of the plan,-suppose a channel 3 feet deep, and that 8 feet are required, commence driving the piling on each shore at a point that will level 6 inches above the water and continue then till it rises to the top of the piling as above described. The advantage of bringing a proportional vquantity of wateror as nearly so as possible from both sides to act on the channel, is their meeting harmoniously and flowingl smoothly without producing eddies or whirls or impinging more upon one side of the channel than the other. This is the most perfect mode-but in an experiment when the measurement was dispensed with (except by the eye) it was found to answer every purpose.

It sometimes happens when the channel inclines much to one sh0re-or when it is thought best to divert it from a straight line in order to impede its velocity, to extend the fixtures to a great length, as in the example at S,that across current sweeps along the extended xture from the shore to the channel-bearing upon its base, and might in time blow it up, to prevent which, the short fixtures N, may be thrown out but never extended farther than is necessary to effect that purpose. To prevent the'water from diverging from the channel when it is curved, the fixtures O, must be thrown out, as it is important to keep the water still in the interstices or spaces between the different ranges of xtures, except when it rises and flows smoothly over them all, by which means those spaces will fill up and become rm earth, thereby insuring the permanence and stability of the fixture.

On a rock foundation where piling cannot be driven, though stone walls may be built, yet it will be found, that the xture may be made with more expedition and less expense by making strong wooden boxes A, and lling them with rock which will confine them to their places. They should be formed as represented in the drawing, with the upper side-or the side up stream about 2,01` 3 inches shorter than the lower-by which means they can be kept in better line, and the aperture R, will receive trash and sediment from above which will form a better joint than could be made by square end` boxes. Should the current become too rapid by being narrowed, which can be ascertained by Vthe fall, the channel should be lengthened as much as possible by crooking or curving it from side to. side of the stream, and then throwing out two or three ranges of fixtures above and below the shoal will greatly tend to diminishits velocity. v

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is, y

The method of obtaining a lineat right angles to the current `of a stream, for the erection of eddies, piers or other fixtures employed in deepening streams, by means of the floating apparatus A, provided with the staffs E, and turning on the post F, in th manner described;

WALTER HARRIS. 

